Essay 1

Rachel Elder
Professor Andrew Smith
English 1020
9 February 2009
Teenagers are not Fit for Adulthood
High schools are the learning centers for teens all across America. Not only does high school provide an education but it also provides a social outlet for most teens. It is an experience that almost all Americans share with one another. From an eighteen year old eager college student to a seventy year old retired farmer—it is an experience that all Americans can look back on. It is a way of life as well as part of the American culture. From magazine racks to Hollywood movies such as Sixteen Candles and the Breakfast Club—high school is very much a part of our society. The time period in which teenagers walk the halls of high school is a time of adventure and self discovery for many. It helps shape teens for their future as well as prepares them for higher education. Imagine American society without high school. What would America be like if those last vital four years of learning were done away with? To many, this may seem like a ridiculous proposal—but not to Leon Bostein. In his writing Let Teenagers try Adulthood, he suggests that high school it a waste of time and that at age sixteen teens are ready for the “real world.” In no way could America benefit from such a proposal, sixteen year olds are not ready for adulthood. Teenagers should not try adulthood because they are not yet adults.
Overall, Bostein’s ideas of abolishing high school are simply absurd. However, he does make a few valid points throughout his writing. For some students, four years of high school is some-what a waste of time. There are a few students that exceed above and beyond high school expectations and at a younger age are already performing on a college level. “Most thoughtful young people suffer the high school environment in silence and in their junior and senior year mark time waiting for college to begin (140),” suggests Bostein. This suggestion may hold true to some teens. These particular over achievers should be permitted to an early graduation if they wish to do so provided that they have completed all requirements with exceptional grades. These are the only students that could possibly be mature enough to handle such a drastic change at an early age.
Although there is an exception as stated above, the majority of American teenagers should not be permitted to graduate at sixteen. There are already enough jobless adults in this country—do we really need jobless and homeless sixteen year olds as well? Furthermore, what kind of preparation would a sixteen year old have for college? Very little is covered in two years that could allow a student to be prepared enough to enter college and an independent life style. Bostein has poor reasons to back up his argument for an early graduation. He argues, “No other group of adults young or old is confined to an age-segregated environment, much like a gang in which individuals of the same age group define each other’s world (140).” If high school was done away with would it prevent cliques, violence, or age segregation—most likely not. Another scenario that Bostein uses to base his negative opinions on American high schools are the shootings that took place in a high school in Littleton, Colorado. Bostein explains, “The Littleton killers above and beyond the psychological demons that drove them to violence, felt trapped in the artificiality of the high school world and believed them to be real (140).” Maybe they did—maybe they did not, Bostein has no way of knowing how those students really felt or what triggered them to commit such a violent crime as murder. High school alone cannot be held accountable for such a tragic event. The only people responsible for this violent shooting are those who pulled the triggers themselves. Early high school graduation will not put an end to violence and murder—it will always be in the world. For that matter, the students involved were clearly very unstable people. What would have stopped them from murdering a college professor or taking the life of a co-worker? Early graduation is certainly not the solution to such a problem.
In conclusion, doing away with high schools in America would not be beneficiary to the young American teenager. High school if an important time and should be enjoyed and valued. America would not be right without high school. It has been around for years and should continue to be here for generations to come. High school will continue to be a place to learn, make life-long friends, and allow students to be one step closer to entering college and higher education. Bostein’s writing suggests high school as a negative experience for teens. Coincidently people often speak of high school years as an exciting time full of fond and positive memories.

The Anit-essay reading response

Poetic terrorism is a little extreme in my opinion. After reading this I was just a little shocked at some of the suggestions that it made for public attention. For some who are a little more extreme than I am it may seem like a good idea, but going to extremes that could potentially end one in jail is a little too far. There are much better ways to state opinions and arguments than vandalizing public property. Kidnapping someone and making them happy is also way too far. Sure, making someone happy in definitely a good intention, but the cops might not really understand when they chase you down and throw you in jail. Poetic Terrorism is a great name for this act, no doubt about it.
Street theatre is not near as risky as poetic terrorism. In fact, I like this idea much better. Public theatre is free for both the actors and the viewers. Little or no props are involved in this which means less money has to be spent. This is probably what the very first plays were like. They were set in a public place, making it available for anyone to view. This method is a good way to get any sort of message across to public viewers.
Street performance is only similar to street theatre in the sense that public space is used to draw crowds, and the performers work in hopes of getting money from the audience. Street performance is based mainly on mind-blowing tricks, and risky life-threatening stunts. If the tricks and stunts are fascinating enough, the audience typically gives money to the performers. This seems to be a fun way to draw a crowd and make a little money.
Chalk art is a neat and creative way for public advertisement, or just recognition. It is definitely for those of us who can actually draw, unlike people like me, who can barley, legibly write their name. I think it is neat and a good, legal way to advertise for events.
The mock-protest video was pretty funny. It is actually pretty interesting that people are willing to blow their horns even when they do not know what the protest is about, or that it is completely fake all together. It is a fun way to draw a crowd and gain public attention. However, I really think that anyone who did this has way too much time on their hands. It seems kind of pointless to me.

Public Space

After reading the assigned readings for this unit I have come to realize something that I have never really put much thought into—public space says a lot about American culture and attitudes. It is apparent to me now that “public space” does not necessarily welcome everyone as it seems to. Malls, parks, streets, and restaurants are all designed to draw certain crowds. Sometimes unknowingly, Americans become stereotypical through public spaces. It undermines the thought of equality that America is supposed to stand for. For example, in John Fiske’s Shopping for Pleasure: Malls, Power, and Resistance, it implies that most malls are not open to the public. He suggests that mall and stores owners do not really welcome teenagers or adults with low income who have no intentions of buying products. They see this as a threat to their businesses and fear that these lingerers may drive some of the more wealthy consumers away.
Another example of a similar scenario is in the introduction to this unit entitled Public Space. These pages are a brief overview of the general idea of public space. It points out that the designs of certain businesses and other forms of public spaces are designed to lure consumers in. They design their businesses to be attractive and flashy in order to draw attention and gain consumer business.
In Murphy Davis’s writing, Woodruff Park and the Search for Common Ground, he discusses the layout of Woodruff Park in Atlanta, Georgia. According to Davis this park has a very unwelcoming feeling. After a five million dollar reconstruction the park appears to be pretty to look at, but does not seem very welcoming. The money for the construction was donated by wealthy business owners in order to have a place to gather where homeless people were not welcomed. As it turns out not only did homeless people feel unwelcomed, but the vast majority of Atlanta citizens found it very uninviting as well.
Public space can say a lot about our culture. Though many Americans do not realize it, we are still segregate in many ways. However, people who own and design public spaces have unspoken intentions for their space. Many times only certain social classes are meant to feel welcomed in a particular area.

McIntosh & Tatum Response

After reading the articles by McIntosh and Tatum I find that I have some of the same ideas as these writers as well as disagreements. McIntosh explains racism as something that most of us are oblivious to in life. She says that it is something that most of us are unaware about and do it unintentionally. She compares it to men and woman. How men look at women unintentionally as being weak and less than them. I do not necessarily think that this is true for all men. This is a very stereotypical idea. It does not apply to all men as well as racism does not apply to all white people—it exists in every race. In my opinion, racism can go both ways. Our country has come a long way since the time of slavery. It has been abolished and now African-Americans have the same rights as white people. Those days are over, it is time to move on. There is no possible way to get everyone in this country to not be bias towards their own race. Individually we have to worry about ourselves and make sure that we are not prejudice towards someone that may be different. Racism has been around for a long time and look how much it has died down since the civil war. This country has come a long way since the Civil War days. It is not something that can immediately be changed overnight. Personally, I am proud of the progress we have made. Different ethnicities are more accepted than ever. I also think that compared to other countries America is probably less racist than any other. After all we are a wide variety of culture and race. Imagine what would happen if a white person moved to Afghanistan and wanted to practice Christianity—they would probably be persecuted. Now that's racism—America’s “racism” problems are nothing compared to that. I think it is best that we all move on, forget about color and look more at a person’s demeanor than the color of their skin. I also believe that the more people rant and rave about these issues more attention will be called to them. If we are all equal then we’re all equal—Everyone, end of story!

Response to Iron Maiden

Michael Jacobson and Laurie Anne Mazur are right on target when they discuss women and the pressure from society for them to be thin in their article The Iron Maiden: how advertising portrays women. Whether it be in magazine articles, internet ads, or on billboards—everywhere we look there are pictures of skinny, beautiful, seductive models showing women just how bad their imperfections really are. In this article, they compare the idealistic body of a female to that of a torture device called “The Iron Maiden” used in medieval times. The device has a woman painted on the outside and the inside is lined with spikes on the inside. The victims eventually die trapped inside the torture device. What a great analogy this is! It is almost to say as if some women are trapped inside their own bodies constantly consumed and obsessed with their imperfections. Some women even strive so hard to maintain this perfect body that they eventually die. Eating disorders are a huge problem in America and—they are often deadly. It is so important for young girls to read articles such as this one to open their eyes to how fake these women that they see on these magazine covers really are. Most pictures in magazines are airbrushed to extreme amounts—to the point that if we were to ever see some of these woman walking down the streets we probably would not be able to identify them. If these women do not even look like they do on the magazine covers than how is it possible for other women to obtain this look? Men are also facing issues with their bodies in the media as well. They have a lot of pressure to be “buff” and muscled up. Some men even resort to steroids which can often be lethal just as an eating disorder can be to women. Though men have pressure too, there is still no comparison to the pressure that women face from society to look a certain way. As women, we have this idea that men will not want us if we are not a certain weight or look a particular way. It is sad to see society so consumed with looks and not what is on the inside. Can we ever be happy with ourselves? It is important to stay true to ourselves and not get caught up in the pressures to be “perfect.”

Reaction to Leon Bostein's Let Teenagers Try Adulthood

After reading Leon Bostein’s Let Teenagers try adult hood, I have mixed feelings about it. In some ways I am shocked at Bostein’s negative outlook on high schools in America. As a recent high school graduate, I feel that some of his opinions are harsh and over the top. Bostein argues that high school should be cut short and at sixteen students are ready for college, jobs, and freedom. Personally I do not see that this plan would work. High school is a huge building block for the maturity of America’s young adults. Teenagers at sixteen are not yet ready for “real world experiences.”
Throughout this writing Bostein often refers back to The Littleton shootings in order to base his negative opinions on high schools. The situation was tragic—but could not have been controlled by anyone other than the killers themselves. The urge for those particular students to pull the trigger may have been provoked by their peers in taunting and teasing—but none the less is no excuse for murder. Bostein suggests through his writing that maybe if students were in the real world at an earlier age, they would have more knowledge about how to handle life’s situations better. Would allowing those students involved to graduate two years earlier have stopped the shootings—most likely not. It takes a very unstable person to wish to take the life of a fellow peer. There is obviously a weakness in these students that caused them to react in such a violent manner that was completely out of anyone’s control but their own. Turning sixteen year olds loose at such a young age is not the answer to problems such as this one. It will not fix violence in schools or anywhere in the world for that matter. These students may have very well shot at a fellow employee or a college professor. The high school atmosphere cannot be held completely accountable for their actions—it is ridiculous that Bostein believes an early graduation would fix problems such as these.
On the other hand, I do agree with some of the statements that he makes. In some ways high school is unchallenging and a waste of time. It would be completely possible to cut curriculum down into two years instead of prolonging it to four. This plan could benefit students by allowing them to get an early start into college. However, not all students are mature enough to enter upper education at such a young age. Problems of violence and corruption are not just in high school—they are everywhere. Times have changed and the world is a different and more violent place. Therefore, some students should be permitted to graduate at sixteen only if they have gone extra lengths to complete requirements earlier than others. Those who do not can stay in high school until they reach eighteen. I do agree that holding all students there for four years is slightly unfair to those over achievers who are mature enough for college. Let the grades and achievements accomplished by students speak for themselves in regards to an earlier graduation.

Rachel's Blog

Hi, my name is Rachel Elder and this is my first year at Tennessee Tech! I am currently undecided with my major but considering pre-vet!